Murder, misery, totalitarianism (and the occasional hobbit) dominate our list of the nation’s favourite 20th-century novels.
Selling more than 400,000 copies since 2019, the most popular 20th-century novel is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, his nightmarish parable about a soul-crushing totalitarian state. It’s not an outlier: the next three bestselling books — Frank Herbert’s Dune, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Orwell’s novella Animal Farm — are also dystopian fiction.
It would seem that the modern canon is dark and angsty, nasty and brutish, perhaps reflecting our national mood during the past five years. Between 2019 and 2024, as Britain navigated Brexit, the proroguing of parliament, a coronavirus pandemic, a cost of living crisis and Liz Truss, we turned to novels about dictators, disasters and societal breakdown to help us to confront our newly unstable reality.
We asked Nielsen BookScan, who put together the Sunday Times Bestseller list, to calculate the top 50 bestselling 20th-century fiction titles we’ve bought over the past five years. It is full of paranoia and fear, from Lord of the Flies and Brave New World to Fahrenheit 451 and two Philip K Dick novels, The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the inspiration for Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner).
Totalitarian terror: the ever-watchful Big Brother’s eye in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four
But then there’s No 5 on the list, Donna Tartt’s swoonily thrilling 1992 novel, The Secret History, which begins with a murder. This story about Classics students at a cloistered New England college has always sold well, but in recent years it’s experienced a renaissance on TikTok, where readers obsess over its preppy “dark academia” aesthetic. The Secret History introduces a new theme to the list: a strong flavour of teenage angst.
TikTok trends play a part, as do TV tie-ins and the school curriculum, of course. It’s interesting to note that Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar has proved more popular in recent years than JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. (Hands up who studied those two for their GCSE English open study.) Norwegian Wood, The Virgin Suicides and (arguably) Lolita are books that also speak to the maelstrom of adolescence. For all the talk of trigger warnings and “snowflake” generations supposedly unable to consume disturbing content, it would appear that they’re going straight for the hard stuff.
You may breathe a sigh of relief when you see Marian Keyes’s 1997 comic novel, Rachel’s Holiday, at No 14 in the list — although it’s worth remembering this is a story about alcohol addiction and rehab. Notably, Keyes’s novel is one of only 12 on the list written by a woman — while contemporary publishing has seen more female writers rise to prominence, it’s still novels by men that remain the 20th-century favourites.
The list has an American accent — 23 of the novels on the list were written by American authors, compared with 20 by Brits (plus two Irish women, Marian Keyes and Claire Keegan). But America’s dominance is most notable when it comes to the big literary classics — The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Color Purple, Beloved, Giovanni’s Room and even Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea sneaks in lower down the list. No complaints — it’s a wonderful story. But no Brideshead Revisited or Ulysses or Mrs Dalloway or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or The Golden Notebook or Midnight’s Children? At least there’s Kazuo Ishiguro’s masterly novel The Remains of the Day, narrated by a butler looking back on his life. But that’s about as English as it gets.
You could say that this list puts to bed the idea that sex sells — unless you count Lolita (a horror story of sorts). There are memorably erotic moments in Giovanni’s Room and One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I’m not sure that accounts for their timeless appeal.
Romance doesn’t get much of a look-in — and by romance I mean that in the broadest sense: romance with the world. Darkness makes for conflict and drama; reading about murder and coercion may help us to process our worst fears. But the fact we’re buying bleak and angsty fiction doesn’t necessarily mean we are consuming more intellectually challenging literature. There’s little joy or sense of wonder here — almost worryingly so. It makes me wonder where we’re now turning for enchantment.
The list was compiled by Nielsen BookScan, using UK print sales in the five-year period ending 29 June 2024 of books published prior to the year 2000.
The top 50 modern classics
50. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983)
An unfortunate lawyer is sent to a spooky house to retrieve documents left behind by its dead owner in this ghost story, which has been adapted for film and stage.
49. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1952)
Old Santiago has not caught a fish in 84 days. Will he ever achieve his dream of hooking a giant marlin?
48. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956)
David, a young American man in Paris, waits out the long night before his lover Giovanni is guillotined
47. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983)
In the first in the Discworld series, the wizard Rincewind attempts to guide a naive insurance clerk around his city on Ankh-Morpork.
46. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K Dick (1968)
Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter in postapocalyptic San Francisco — except he’s on the hunt for androids in disguise.
45. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
Humbert Humbert narrates the tale of his obsession with a teenage girl, Lolita, in this disturbing but virtuoso work.
Dark tales: Donna Tartt, Toni Morrison, Marian Keyes, Stephen King and JRR Tolkien
ERNESTO RUSCIO/TIMOTHY FADEK/ASTRID STAWIARZ/DAVID LEVENSON/HAYWOOD MAGEE/PICTURE POST/HULTON ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
44. Misery by Stephen King (1987)
When the romance novelist Paul Sheldon crashes his car, he is cared for by a former nurse in her home — which becomes his prison.
43. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
Captain John Yossarian reflects on the absurdity of war from a military hospital: how can he avoid being sent back into action?
42. A Place of Execution by Val McDermid (1999)
Catherine Heathcote, a journalist, asks a detective to retell the story of a young girl who went missing long ago. Suddenly, he stops co-operating.
41. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick (1962)
What if the Allies hadn’t won the Second World War? This chilling alternative history imagines 1960s life under the rule of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
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40. Antarctica by Claire Keegan (1999)
These short stories by the author of Small Things Like These focus on obsession, betrayal and fraying relationships.
39. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
An ageing English butler looks back over his life of service — and the great, unspoken love he kept hidden.
38. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (1996)
The first novel in the series A Song of Ice and Fire introduces us to the dangerous, backstabbing world of Westeros.
37. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)
Ten supposedly unrelated people arrive on a small island off Devon. One by one they are found dead.
36. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (1948)
In this Japanese classic the failed life of a troubled man named Oba Yozo is told through the notebooks he left behind.
35. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
In 1873 Sethe believes she is haunted by her daughter, whom she killed to prevent her being recaptured into slavery.
34. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)
This magical realist classic follows seven generations of the Buendía family in the town of Macondo.
33. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
The hapless Arthur Dent struggles through intergalactic life after Earth has been destroyed by the Vogons.
32. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien (1977)
A posthumously published collection of myths and stories about Middle-earth before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
31. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (1969)
The sequel to Herbert’s science fiction classic Dune follows life on the planet after Paul Atreides has ruled as emperor for 12 years.
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30. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
Celia is a black woman who was born into poverty and segregation in the Deep South. Then she meets a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny.
29. The Man with No Face by Peter May (1981)
The Edinburgh journalist Neil Bannerman is sent to Brussels to dig up dirt in 1979. But when two British men are murdered, the stakes are raised considerably.
28. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
Patrick Bateman is a rich, narcissistic Manhattan banker with a secret: he’s also a serial killer.
27. The Shining by Stephen King (1977)
Jack Torrance retreats to an isolated hotel in the Rockies with his family to work as a caretaker over the winter, while he tries to write. But all work and no play…
26. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
In a future America, Guy Montag is a fireman — but rather than putting out house fires, he specialises in burning banned books.
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25. The Lord of the Rings boxed set by JRR Tolkien (1937-49)
Two hobbits, Frodo and Sam, journey across Middle-earth to destroy the One Ring in Tolkien’s beloved four-book fantasy series.
24. It by Stephen King (1986)
The antics of Pennywise the clown have been enough to deter generations of children from looking too closely at drains.
23. Die Trying by Lee Child (1998)
Jack and an FBI agent called Holly Johnson are kidnapped by members of a radical militia in the second Reacher novel.
22. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)
Our unnamed narrator marries a wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter, and is whisked away to his estate, Manderley. If only everyone would forget about his first wife…
21. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (1993)
In 1970s Michigan, five blonde teenage sisters each take their own life. A group of local teenage boys try to understand why.
20. Tripwire by Lee Child (1999)
A Vietnam veteran supposedly missing in action resurfaces as a loan shark in the third Jack Reacher novel.
19. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987)
Toru Watanabe recalls his college days in Tokyo and his relationships with two women: the loud, lively Midori and beautiful, troubled Naoko.
18. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)
Holden Caulfield runs away from his Pennsylvania prep school to find sex and excitement in New York. Inevitably, it ends in disappointment.
17. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
In the World State, there is no sex and no pregnancy — citizens are made in artificial wombs, placed into castes and kept placid through happiness drugs. But the psychologist Bernard Marx is not happy.
16. Killing Floor by Lee Child (1997)
Child’s debut novel introduced us to Jack Reacher, the former military cop who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
15. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)
George and Lennie are ranch workers in search of employment in the Great Depression. Will they achieve their dream of owning their own land?
14. Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes (1997)
Rachel Walsh’s glamorous New York lifestyle is shattered when her elder sister sends her off to rehab in the book that made Marian Keyes a literary legend.
13. Westwind by Ian Rankin (1990)
When Britain’s only spy satellite goes offline, a ground control technician suspects foul play. His search for the truth leads him to America, MI6 — and his ex-girlfriend.
12. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (1990)
This collaboration between two legendary authors turns End Time prophecies — Satan, the Antichrist, the Four Horseman et al — into hilarious satire.
11. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1993)
Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of broadening his horizons. His quest, and the lessons he learns, have inspired millions.
10. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)
A plane crash leaves a class of civilised public schoolboys stranded on a desert island. Soon, they’re massacring the local wildlife.
9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)
Inspired by Plath’s own struggles with mental illness, this novel follows a talented young woman who suffers from depression.
8. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (1937)
In Tolkien’s first Middle-earth story Bilbo Baggins (a hobbit) reclaim his home from the dragon Smaug, with the help of the wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
In 1930s Alabama, Scout and Jem live with their widowed father, the lawyer Atticus Finch. Their lives change when Atticus defends a black man accusing of raping a white woman.
6. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
In Jazz Age New York, Nick Carraway is engrossed by the millionaire Jay Gatsby’s pursuit of the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan.
And the top 5…
5. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)
Richard Papen arrives at Hampden, a liberal arts college in Vermont, wanting nothing more than to shed his old life. But when he falls in with a clique of pretentious Classics students, his education extends beyond the academic. Donna Tartt’s debut novel tells you in the first sentence that a murder has been committed — what keeps you going is asking, why? A now-classic novel that sparked the dark academia trend.
4. Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)
When a group of animals rebel against their human farmers, they plan to create a farm where all animals are equal, free and happy. But the pigs in charge of Animal Farm soon give themselves special privileges, and when a pig named Napoleon becomes dictator, conditions on the farm deteriorate. This biting allegory of Stalinist Russia is also a truly heartrending story: who can forget the fate of the hardworking horse Boxer?
3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
In a near-future America, the government has been overthrown by the Republic of Gilead, a patriarchal theocracy. Offred is a handmaid, an enslaved woman who must give birth to the children of Commanders. Atwood’s dystopia is all the more chilling for her claim that everything that takes place in the novel has occurred in real life. The book is widely referenced within political debates today, and a TV adaptation has brought the story to new audiences.
2. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
In the distant future the family of Paul Atreides is given stewardship of the planet Arrakis, a desert wasteland whose indigenous Fremen people have carried out successful raids against their previous overlords. When Paul’s father is assassinated, he goes into hiding with the Fremen, who believe he could be their messiah. A recent film adaptation starring Timothée Chalamet has renewed interest in this ever-popular science fiction classic. Watch out for the sandworms.
1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
In a list heavy on dystopias, No 1 is the scariest of all. George Orwell imagined the Britain of 1984 to be a totalitarian state presided over by the terrifying Big Brother. Policed by technology that allows for constant mass surveillance, not to mention the Thought Police, life in Oceania is a joyless existence. Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth, keeps a secret diary and begins an illicit relationship with Julia, his colleague. Together they attempt to make contact with a resistance group called the Brotherhood — but they are captured and tortured. This is the book that gave us the terms “doublethink” and “thoughtcrime”, as well as a popular reality TV show — but it tugs at the heartstrings too. And who’d have thought rats could be so horrifying?
What is your favourite 20th-century novel? Let us know in the comments below.
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